It was never going to be much of a contest: the best of Australia pitted against a largely second-string Japan, who were saving some of their best players for battles ahead. Yet, though the Japanese Cherry Blossoms wilted badly in the last 25 minutes, they provided the twice world champions with a decent workout before their crucial pool B match in Cardiff, against Wales, next weekend. They certainly needed it. Having not played a competitive game since July, the Aussies looked rusty for much of the first half, though they romped away at the end, scoring 13 tries by the final whistle.

Against this level of opposition, it is always hard to judge in what kind of form a side is. On the wing, Lote Tuquri was oddly subdued after his recent controversies, as was Matt Giteau, inside him. On the plus side, Chris Latham showed he is back to full fitness after his knee reconstruction, there were touches of class from Stephen Larkham and Rocky Elsom had a storming game. Japan, saving their best players for their clash with Fiji on Wednesday, can take comfort from some brave tackling and promising performances from flanker Yasunori Watanabe, winger Tomoki Kitagawa and scrum half Yuki Yatomi.

Early on, Japan showed plenty of willingness to run the ball, but were guilty of some aimless kicking that handed hard-fought possession back to Australia. Still, most sections of a lively crowd were behind the underdogs and it was hardly surprising skipper Stirling Mortlock's decision to kick two early penalties was booed. The Japanese defended their line bravely and it was not until the 18th minute that Australia scored their first try, Nathan Sharpe crashing over from a regulation rolling maul. Elsom then crashed over for two tries in seven minutes, the first after a bullocking run by Mortlock.

These first-half tries reflected the Wallabies' domination of the game, but were tough on the Japanese and their brave defence. Indeed, the highlight of the first half was, arguably, the sight of winger Kitagawa leaping at and felling Wycliff Palu. If the official statistics are accurate, the Japanese number 14 is 40kg lighter than the Australian number eight, but he looks a fascinating prospect. As it was, a half-time scoreline of 23-3 was probably far better than the Cherry Blossoms' coach, John Kirwan, could realistically have hoped for.

After the break, the deluge. Elsom completed his hat-trick and ensured the bonus point within 60 seconds of the restart. Adam Ashley-Cooper and Latham quickly added other tries before Australia began to throw on replacements. These included young debutant flyhalf Berrick Barnes, who scored with only his second touch in Test rugby. Replacement wing Drew Mitchell then scored with his first touch and added a second soon afterwards as the game finally descended into a non-contest.

Even so, the biggest cheer of the day came late on, when Japan gamely ran a late penalty in vain search of a late try. By this time, however, the match had all the intensity of a training session. The main concern for the Wallabies was an injury to replacement Mark Gerrard, who had to be helped off the pitch, with Australia playing the rest of the game with 14 men.